I spent five years at Forbes writing about business and leadership, attracting nearly one million unique visitors to Forbes.com each month. While here, I assistant edited the annual World’s 100 Most Powerful Women package and helped launch and grow ForbesWoman.com. I've appeared on CBS, CNBC, MSNBC and E Entertainment and speak often at conferences and events on women's leadership topics. I graduated summa cum laude from New York University with degrees in journalism and sociology and was honored with a best in business award from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers (SABEW) in 2012. My work has appeared in Businessweek, Ladies’ Home Journal, The Aesthete and Acura Style. I live in New York City with my husband and can be found on Twitter @Jenna_Goudreau, Facebook, and Google+.

Why We Need To Take 20-Somethings Seriously

They’ve been called the Twixters, Choisters, pre-adults, adultescents, the stuck generation and the lost generation, playing out an extended adolescence or an emerging adulthood or their odyssey years. They are the 20-somethings that graduated into one of the worst economies in decades, saddled with some of the highest debt burdens. According to a new report, half of recent college graduates are unemployed or underemployed, scraping by with low-wage service jobs. Those who are working earn less than their 1970s counterparts, when adjusted for inflation.

They are moving back home, going back to school or embracing unpaid internships as the new starter jobs. They are marrying later and starting families later still. They are told to wait it out. They have time. The 20s are for having fun anyway. Real life starts later.

But it doesn’t. It starts now, and they are falling behind.

“I’ve had hundreds–maybe thousands–of clients and students who’ve been misled about how important this decade is,” says Meg Jay, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist specializing in adult development and the author of The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter–and How to Make the Most of Them Now. “In a lot of ways, 20-somethings are not taken seriously. Your 20s really, really matter. You are deciding your life right now, and it will have enormous impact across years and generations to come.”

According to Jay, 80% of life’s most significant events take place by age 35, making the 20s a “developmental sweet spot.” Two-thirds of lifetime wage growth happens in the first 10 years of a career. So those who wait until their 30s to get going in a “real” job will never catch up.

“The biggest myth is that the 20s are a time to think about what you want to do,” notes Jay. “That doesn’t work. You basically know what you want. Just start, and get the best job you can get.”

Reveling in a decade-long identity crisis will not result in better-adjusted adults, she says. Research shows that 20-something unemployment is associated with heavy drinking and depression in middle age—even after becoming regularly employed. Meanwhile, 20-somethings who are underemployed for just nine months tend to be more depressed and less motivated than their peers—even their unemployed peers.

Working as a bartender or coffeehouse barista may have some romance for those screw-The-Man, I-refuse-to-be-chained-to-a-desk types, but Jay says many young people underestimate the satisfaction that comes from joining the working world. The loathed yuppie cube-dweller is on average happier than her still-figuring-it-out brethren, she says.

And while the choice conundrum (what should I do if I can do anything?) may leave some paralyzed, “not making a choice is a choice,” warns Jay. “These 20-somethings think they are keeping their options open, but they are actually closing doors.” Resumes start to look thin, their peers begin surpassing them and, without real-world experience, they’re no closer to a direction.

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Great food for thought, Jenna. Except the only part I disagreed with was Meg Jay’s assessment that “you’re not going to get fired because your boss is angry.” Prior to working where I am now, I worked in advertising and had very, very moody bosses. The slightest questioning at their methods or a toe out of line that they didn’t like and you were gone. Every working environment is different and unfortunately all companies are not created equal to treat their employees equally because they have something now that past generations didn’t: a wait list. There’s someone right behind them to replace that person. And a person behind that person and so on. And the worst part is that you can’t do anything about it either except keep looking for a new job and keeping your fingers crossed that you wind up somewhere better. I did go on to a much better job that was perfectly up my alley (as a social media manager) but I came away from that position knowing that I will never be that kind of boss and will forever work to create an environment where everyone is comfortable and encouraged to discuss any issues or ideas they may have with me. People are not instantly replaceable.

I wholeheartedly agree. The panic that you could lose your job, lose your only way to fund your family or your education, and waste precious time at a position that you can never get back, is forever looming. I think a lot of employers simply don’t take twenty-somethings seriously because they remember when they were twenty-something, but in this day and age, you can be fired for any little thing. It is more than scary… it is downright horrifying.

This was THE most depressing article I have ever read heading into my 29th birthday on Sunday. What a completely negative spin you took if you haven’t managed to reached these milestones as defined by Forbes. Thanks.

It was not my goal to depress you, although some of the employment stats are grim. I think Dr. Jay’s message is a hopeful one: don’t waste your time; it’s valuable. Don’t stick your head in the sand. Pick a direction and get going. You can do it.

Brittany, I think it is time to be the change you want to see. If you are happy with your life and where it is heading, then fine. But if you see your current trajectory leading to a 39th birthday that isn’t what you are hoping for, perhaps you need to make changes.

I agree with you both, this is depressing, but also you are right about alot of what you said. I will be 28 this year; I left the military in late 2010 and I am finishing college. I am not wasting time, I have taken no breaks and done everything from 2 study abroads (finishing the last now), to an unpaid internship, to various positions and boards at School. Althought I have a great resume already and will be getting a B.A. in December, I am forgoing the tradition route-after working to get my degree, and instead going into the Restaurant Business. I am currently working on a cookbook, and hope to have a food truck this summer. Yes, in the economy. I believe our generation should focus more on entrepenuership, as the current job market is flooded with applicants. I think our generation should focus on being job creators, and helping the economy rebuild and restore through our contributions, and not just waiting on the government, or “the economy” to be fixed. We are the economy and I think we should be the ones rebuilding it and moving into the future. The entire way everyting works is changing through globalization and connectivity and availability of people, goods and resources. Things are changing, we don’t have time for an extended mid-life crisis….we should be facilitating the change. And I want to end my soap box rant by also saying, it is our time to be more involved in the current political processes more than ever. We NEED to vote. We NEED to be involved and completely aware of the national debate, leading the debate. Its not an option…we are the most powerful generation right now. If we can avoid being simply distracted by all we have at our fingertips, we can move forward.

@Brittany- That “Thanks” at the end really highlights your little immature attitude that got you into your lacking position in the first place. “Thanks” like its Forbes’ fault for not having written this article twenty years earlier. Grow up, oh wait……